In 2015, according to the Kroll Global Fraud report many travel and tourism businesses were victim to fraud. The dangers are real, and their effects are costly (in fact, according to The Nilson Report, global card fraud damages are over $16 billion, annually). The fraudsters are sophisticated, and they change their schemes often. Travel industry […]
Category: Latest Fraud News
Identity fraud up by 57%
The number of victims of identity theft rose by 57% last year, figures from fraud prevention service Cifas suggest. The data, taken from 261 companies in the UK, suggests fraudsters are increasingly getting people’s personal information from social media sites. Cifas said Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn had become a “hunting ground” for identity thieves. It […]
Global Action Against Airline Fraud Detains 140
An international law enforcement operation targeting airline fraudsters has resulted in the detention and investigation of 140 individuals found in possession of tickets bought using stolen or fake credit card details. The two-day operation conducted June 15-16 was organized globally through coordination centers at Europol in The Hague, INTERPOL Singapore and Ameripol in Bogota, with […]
1 in 10 are victims of online credit card fraud in UAE
Dubai: Around one in 10 residents in the UAE has been a victim of online credit card fraud, with some saying their card details had been stolen and used for wrong purchases, a new survey has found. The Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai, in collaboration with global payments technology company Visa, revealed the […]
Buying into fraud
The cost of fraud is far higher than previous estimates, and procurement accounts for most of this. With cuts to internal audit and procurement teams focused on savings, local authorities need all the help they can get. David Cameron’s hosting of the world’s first anti-corruption summit in May certainly sent out a message that fraud […]
£500 device can hack hundreds of contactless cards
A device that allows criminals to clone contactless bank cards in bulk is up for sale on the so-called dark web. The Contactless Infusion X5 can steal information from nearby cards, including the card number and the card holder’s name and address. This information can then be loaded onto blank cards to create clones that […]
Tech support scams target victims via their ISP
A new scam, in which fraudsters pose as legitimate internet service providers to offer bogus tech support, either via the phone or on the net, is on the rise, the BBC has found. It is a twist on an old trick which involved cold-calling a victim – often claiming to represent Microsoft – and charging […]
Spam King sentenced to two years in prison
Sanford Wallace, 47, is nicknamed the “Spam King” and last year pleaded guilty to federal charges including fraud and criminal contempt in connection with using electronic mail. Wallace, who is from Las Vegas, also faces a fine of $310,000 (£218,500). The messages were sent to Facebook users in 2008 and 2009. An FBI investigation resulted […]
Apple iCloud phishing scams
Apple iCloud users have been warned to be on their guard against phishing attacks targeting the UK that seek to gain account information, including credit card data. Security company FireEye uncovered evidence of the attacks after noticing that 86 domains were set up in the first quarter of 2016 to host pages that pose as […]
Contactless cards: twice the level of fraud
Contactless payments tripled last year, and now make up an estimated one in seven of all transactions, so it’s particularly alarming to learn that people with contactless cards may be twice as likely to fall victim to fraud than those without the technology in their cards. Booming The use of contactless technology has taken off: […]
Company director jailed for a year for Hajj fraud
A director of a rogue Hajj travel company was found guilty and sentenced to 12 months in prison at Birmingham Crown Court today. Mohammed Arfan (38) who ran Al-Safah Tours Limited, based at 442 Alum Rock Road, Birmingham, pleaded not guilty to 16 offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008) and the […]
Travel firms must prepare for terror attacks
Travel companies have been urged to plan on a ‘wider’ scale for coping in the event of a terrorist attack at the industry’s first counter terror seminar. At the seminar, specifically aimed at the travel industry and set up by Prevention of Fraud in Travel (PROFiT), firms were told to have a “business continuity plan” […]
Fraud costs the UK up to £193bn per year
The annual cost of fraud in the UK could be as high as £193bn a year, far higher than a government estimate of £50bn, according to a new report. The latest Annual Fraud Indicator, based on research from Portsmouth university, has estimated that private sector losses could be as high as £144bn a year — […]
Expert issues cyber crime warning to industry
Cyber crime is one of the “biggest potential threats” to travel companies, according to an expert. Alan Pattison, who runs the travel risk professionals division of insurance broker Tasker & Partners, said the company was witnessing an increasing number of cyber crime cases among clients, which include a range of travel agents, tour operators and […]
Warning issued over Iata phishing scam
A warning has gone out to the trade over an apparent phishing scam seeking to obtain direct payments from travel companies. The alert was raised by Traveltek president and chief executive Kenny Picken after receiving an email purporting to be from Iata claiming to be carrying out a payments audit. It claimed to be sent […]
Social media must do more to tackle online fraud
Social media sites must do more to tackle online ticket fraud, after being used for nearly half of all such scams last year, councils have warned. Sports and music fans have been warned by Trading Standards teams to beware of fake tickets for sale this summer. Major events, including Euro 2016 and music festivals, are […]
SeaWorld manager charged with $100,000 ticket fraud
A SeaWorld supervisor has been charged with theft of more than $100,000 from the company’s Aquatica water park in Orlando, after admitting to voiding tickets and pocketing the money. Lisa Olivardia, 50, was arrested on charges of grand theft and scheme to defraud. Orange County police found she voided tickets between 2013 and 2015, and […]
Cifas calls on UK government to help tackle fraud
The UK fraud prevention service is calling on the government to use the Queen’s Speech to introduce policy and legislative changes to tackle cyber and other forms of fraud UK fraud prevention service Cifas is calling on the government to make tackling cyber and other financial crime a priority in the Queen’s Speech on 18 […]
Online fraud transactions to more than double by 2020
Online fraud transactions are expected to reach $25.6 billion (£17.6 billion) by 2020, up from $10.7 billion (£7.4 billion) last year. By the end of the decade, it’s expected that $4 (£2.7) in every $1,000 (£687) of online payments will be fraudulent. Juniper Research’s study, Online Payment Fraud: Key Vertical Strategies & Management 2016-2020, discovered […]
E-retailers cut their fraud rate
The percentage of online sales lost to fraud ticked down to 0.8% in 2015, from 0.9% in 2013, while the mobile fraud rate fell to 0.5% from 0.9%. Online retailers are losing a lower percentage of their sales to fraud, but paying a price in turning away more legitimate customers and manually reviewing more orders, […]